After taking just a short walk southwest of the Notre Dame des Victoires, you will be confronted by a colorful arch, the entrance to the Ancient Culture Street (Gu wenhua jie). Like its counterpart in Beijing, the famous Liulichang, it reflects the authority’s effort to recreate an ancient Chinese street of the 19th century in modern high-rise Tianjin. Although everything here is not real, you can still appreciate the protruding balconies and carved columns of the red and green wooden shops with their nicely tiled roofing. “Antiques” here are generally expensive, but if you are a connoisseur of bargaining, you can still find some good souvenirs at a reasonable price. Some good shops worthy of being mentioned include the Nirenzhang Clay Figurine Shop, Yangliuqing New Year Poster Shop and Tianyige Four Chinese Writing Tools Shop.
Within the confines of the street is the Tianhuo Temple (Tianhou gong), paying tribute to the Goddess of the sea. The temple was apparently built in 1326 AD in deference to the heavenly Goddess and in hope of protection for Tianjin’s ocean going population. Since then the temple has been renovated a number of times. In 1984, it was turned into a museum displaying local customs, including some fine examples of the Tianjin clay works and woodblocks from the nearby village of Yangliuqing.
Address: Wenhua street (Wenhua jie).
How to get there: A short walk east of the Confucius temple, or a taxi ride from the railway station. The street is situated in the northeastern quarter of Tianjin, beside the Hai River.
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